Grip for holding a shaft of a golf club

ABSTRACT

A grip for a ball hitting device, for example for a golf club, comprising a shaft from one end of which protrudes a head having a face for hitting a ball, for example a golf ball, said grip being destined to be fixed to the end of the shaft opposite the head, said grip comprising a web which is to be wrapped around the shaft in the shape of a tube, said web having an external face which is to come in contact with the hand of the user of the ball hitting device, and an internal face that is to be fixated to said shaft, characterized in that hooks are protruding from said internal face, said hooks being destined to cooperate with loops or hooks protruding from said shaft so as to effect fixation of said grip to said shaft by a hook and loop or hook in hook self gripper or mechanical fastener.

The present invention relates to a grip for holding a shaft of a golf club. The present invention also relates to a golf club which incorporates such a grip. The present invention also relates to a manufacturing process of such a grip.

A golf club, comprising an head having a face that is configured to come in contact with the golf ball and a shaft extending from said head, comprises at the handling end of the club, or butt end of the club, ie the end of the shaft opposite to the head, a grip comprising a tube made of a softer material than the material of the shaft, such as leather, rubber, thermoplastic material, such as PE, PP, polyamides and so on. This tube is fixed by adhesive, notably glued, around the shaft of the golf club at the butt end thereof to help the golfer to hold the club more easily, and in particular helps against slippage of the club in the hands of the player when he hits the ball.

These prior art grips have the following drawbacks:

Firstly, under rainy playing condition, it can often happen that the adhesive looses its sticking properties during a round and the tube grip starts sliding in rotation relatively to the shaft, and this impairs badly the capacity of the player to hold his club and therefore to hit the ball well during the rest of the round.

Then, when the player wants to change the grip of the club, he needs to shear the tube away from the shaft, and the tube grip cannot be used anymore, and he must buy another tube grip for replacement, even though the previous grip did not totally wear out and could have been re used if recovered.

Furthermore, the prior art tube grip are not easy to change, and very often players need to go to the repair shop to have them replace. As a result, they tend not to change them up to the moment when the grip has wore out so much that the change cannot be postponed anymore, but this implies that the player has played with worn out grips for quite a long time, and this certainly had a negative impact on their play during that period.

The present invention aims to overcome among others these drawbacks. The present invention provides a grip which resists well to the rain and in particular which stays well fixated to the shaft under the rain. Furthermore, the grip of the invention can be changed quickly and easily.

According to a first aspect of the invention, a grip for a golf club, comprising a shaft from one end of which protrudes a head having a face for hitting a ball, said grip being destined to be fixed to the end of the shaft opposite the head, said grip comprising a web which is to be wrapped around the shaft in the shape of a tube, said web having an external face which is to come in contact with the hand of the golf player, and an internal face that is to be fixated to said shaft,

wherein hooks are protruding from said internal face, said hooks being destined to cooperate with loops or hooks protruding from said shaft so as to allow fixation of said grip to said shaft by a hook and loop or hook in hook self gripper or mechanical fastener.

According to a second aspect of the invention, a grip for a golf club, comprising a shaft from one end of which protrudes a head having a face for hitting a ball, said grip being destined to be fixed to the end of the shaft opposite the head, said grip comprising a web which is to be wrapped around the shaft in the shape of a tube, said web having an external face which is to come in contact with the hand of the golf player, and an internal face that is to be fixated to said shaft,

wherein loops are protruding from said internal face, said loops being destined to cooperate with hooks protruding from said shaft so as to effect fixation of said grip to said shaft by a hook and loop self gripper or mechanical fastener.

According to a third aspect of the invention, a grip for a golf club, comprising a shaft from one end of which protrudes a head having a face for hitting a ball, said grip being destined to be fixed to the end of the shaft opposite the head, said grip comprising a tube of substantially cylindrical shape which is to be fitted over the butt end of the golf shaft, said tube having an external face which is to come in contact with the hand of the golf player, and an internal face that is to be fixated to said shaft,

wherein hooks are protruding from said internal face, said hooks being destined to cooperate with loops or hooks protruding from said shaft so as to allow fixation of said grip to said shaft by a hook and loop or hook in hook self gripper or mechanical fastener.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, a grip for a golf club, comprising a shaft from one end of which protrudes a head having a face for hitting a ball, said grip being destined to be fixed to the end of the shaft opposite the head, said grip comprising a tube of substantially cylindrical shape which is to be fitted over the butt end of the golf shaft, said tube having an external face which is to come in contact with the hand of the golf player, and an internal face that is to be fixated to said shaft,

wherein loops are protruding from said internal face, said loops being destined to cooperate with hooks protruding from said shaft so as to effect fixation of said grip to said shaft by a hook and loop self gripper or mechanical fastener.

In one embodiment of the invention, the web is to be wrapped helicoidally around said shaft.

In another embodiment, said grip has the shape of a blind hole tube.

In a preferred embodiment, a slit extends from the opening of the blind hole tube toward the closed end of the tube, for example substantially up to said closed end.

Preferably, said blind hole tube is conically shaped, said opening being of a smaller dimension than the opposite end of the tube.

The present invention also relates to a golf club, comprising a shaft from one lower end of which extends a head having a face for hitting a ball, and loops are protruding from the upper part of the shaft, said loops being destined to cooperate with hooks protruding from an internal face of a grip.

The present invention also relates to a golf club, comprising a shaft from a lower end of which extends a head having a face for hitting a ball, and a grip fitted around the shaft, said grip comprising a web wrapped around said shaft, wherein hooks are protruding from a inner face of said web, loops are protruding from the upper part of the shaft, and said hooks and said loops being penetrated by said hooks so that said grip is mechanically fixed to said shaft.

The present invention also relates to a golf club, comprising a shaft from a lower end of which extends a head having a face for hitting a ball, and a grip fitted around the shaft, said grip comprising a web wrapped around said shaft, wherein loops are protruding from a inner face of said web, hooks are protruding from the upper part of the shaft, and said hooks and said loops being penetrated by said hooks so that said grip is mechanically fixed to said shaft.

The present invention also relates to a golf club, comprising a shaft from a lower end of which extends a head having a face for hitting a ball, and a grip fitted around the shaft, said grip comprising a web wrapped around said shaft, wherein web hooks are protruding from a inner face of said web, shaft hooks are protruding from the upper part of the shaft, and said web hooks and said shaft hooks mating together so that said grip is mechanically fixed to said shaft.

The present invention also relates to a golf club, comprising a shaft from a lower end of which extends a head having a face for hitting a ball, and a grip fitted around the shaft, said grip comprising a tube fitted around said shaft, wherein hooks are protruding from a inner face of said tube, loops are protruding from the upper part of the shaft, and said hooks and said loops being penetrated by said hooks so that said grip is mechanically fixed to said shaft.

The present invention also relates to a golf club, comprising a shaft from a lower end of which extends a head having a face for hitting a ball, and a grip fitted around the shaft, said grip comprising a tube fitted around said shaft, wherein loops are protruding from a inner face of said tube, hooks are protruding from the upper part of the shaft, and said hooks and said loops being penetrated by said hooks so that said grip is mechanically fixed to said shaft.

The present invention also relates to a golf club, comprising a shaft from a lower end of which extends a head having a face for hitting a ball, and a grip fitted around the shaft, said grip comprising a tube fitted around said shaft, wherein web hooks are protruding from a inner face of said tube, shaft hooks are protruding from the upper part of the shaft, and said tube hooks and said shaft hooks mating together so that said grip is mechanically fixed to said shaft.

Preferably, the loops protruding from said inner face of said tube or said web or from said shaft comprises a looped non woven sheet or a looped knitted fabric or a looped woven fabric. Preferably, these are fixed, for example with an adhesive, to the upper part of the shaft or to the inner face of said tube or said web.

In another preferred embodiment, a web with hooks protruding from said web is fixed around the upper part of said shaft, the hooks being the hooks that are destined to cooperate with hooks or loops of said grip.

In another preferred embodiment, the hooks are formed integrally and in one piece with the upper part of said shaft.

In another preferred embodiment, the hooks are formed integrally and in one piece with the tube or the web forming the grip.

In another preferred embodiment, an intermediary web with hooks protruding from said web is fixed around the upper part of said shaft, the hooks being the hooks that are destined to cooperate with hooks or loops of said grip.

In another preferred embodiment, an intermediary web with hooks protruding from said web is fixed on the inner face of the web or the tube, the hooks being the hooks that are destined to cooperate with hooks or loops protruding from said shaft.

Exemplary embodiments are now described, in relation with the drawings, in which

FIG. 1 represents a golf club comprising a grip of the invention;

FIG. 2 represents a shaft of a golf club on which has been adhesively fixated a sheet of loops that are destined to cooperate with hooks protruding from a grip of the invention

FIG. 3 represents a shaft of a golf club on which has been adhesively fixated a web with hooks that are destined to cooperate with loops or hooks protruding from a grip of the invention

FIG. 4 represents a first embodiment of a grip of the invention, that is destined to be wrapped around a shaft of a golf club.

FIG. 5 represents a second embodiment of a grip of the invention that is destined to be wrapped around a shaft of a golf club.

FIG. 6 represents a third embodiment of a grip of the invention

FIG. 7 represents a fourth embodiment of a grip of the invention.

In FIG. 1 is represented a golf club 1 comprising a head 2 (this is the head of a so called iron club, but this could also be any other clubs such as a wood or a putter) and a shaft 3 extending from said head 2.

On the upper part of the shaft (the lower part being the head side), a grip 4 has been fitted.

The grip 4 has the shape of a tube, slightly conical, having an inner surface 5 destined to come in contact with the shaft for mutual fixation and an outer surface 6 destined to come in contact with the hand of the player.

The grip 4 is in a usual material for grips, namely leather, rubber, felt, polyolefin and so on.

In a first possible embodiment of a club of the invention, hooks 7 are protruding from said shaft 3 while loops 8 are protruding from said grip inner face 5. This first case is illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 7. The grip is in the shape of a tube or sleeve on the inner face of which has been fixed, for example by thermo bonding, ultrasonic bonding, adhesive lamination and analogous art a looped sheet 11 with loops 8. This looped sheet can for example be a looped non woven as recited in EP-A-1,302,582, a looped woven fabric as recited in U.S. Pat. No. 4,739,635, a looped knitted fabric as recited in EP0,517,275, EP-A-0,284,020, EP-A-0,848,938, EP-A-0,694,642 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,116 or any other looped structure of these types.

On the upper end of the club, a web 12 with hooks 7, for example as recited in EP-A-0,324,577, have been fixated, for example by an adhesive. Then, the sleeve is fitted around said web 12, so that fixation of the grip to the shaft is obtained. To help the fitting insertion of the shaft in the sleeve, it is possible to provide a longitudinal slit 13 that extends from the lower opening 14 toward the upper end 15 of the sleeve shaped grip.

In a second possible embodiment of a club of the invention, which is illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 6, loops 17 are protruding from said shaft 3, while hooks 18 are protruding from said grip inner face 5. the grip is in the shape of a tube or sleeve on the internal face 5 of which has been fixed, for example by thermo bonding, ultrasonic bonding, adhesive lamination and analogous art a hook web 21 with hooks 18. (This hook web can be as recited in EP-A-0324577).

On the upper end of the shaft, a looped sheet 22 with loops 17 (This looped sheet can for example be a looped non woven as recited in EP-A-1,302,582, a looped woven fabric as recited in U.S. Pat. No.4,739,635, a looped knitted fabric as recited in EP0,517,275, EP-A-0,284,020, EP-A-0,848,938, EP-A-0,694,642 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,116 or any other looped structure of these types) have been fixated, for example by an adhesive. Then the sleeve shaped grip is fitted around the sheet 22, so that fixation of the grip to the shaft is obtained. To help this fitting, a longitudinal slit 13 can be provided, extending from the lower opening 14 toward the upper end 15 of the grip. To fit the grip on the shaft, one firstly opens the slit and have the shaft come into the internal cavity of the grip, and then recluses the flaps on either sides of the slit so that they come in mutual contact along the slit.

In another embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 4 or 5, the grip can have the shape of a web having hooks protruding from one face. The web is then wrapped, notably helicoidally around said shaft, from which loops are protruding. The hooks are in the shape of a looped sheet fixated, notably by glue, around the shaft. The hooks preferably are made integrally and in one piece with the grip. In particular, when the grip is made in a material that can be moulded, in particular by injection moulding, and in particular in polyolefin and/or rubber, the grip with the hooks can be obtained by moulding in one step. This apply also for the grip made in the shape of a sleeve.

In FIG. 4, the grip is constituted of a layer 100 in a material usual for golf grip, such as leather or rubber, and of a layer constituted of a web with hooks fixated on one face of layer 100. In FIG. 5, the embodiment is the same as in FIG. 4, except that hooks and loops are inversed, the grip being in the shape of a web having loops protruding thereof and wrapped helicoidally around a shaft which comprises hooks.

All the previous description can be used for describing other embodiments which are the exact reverse cases in which hooks and loops are being mutually replaced. In such a case, the web with hooks is being fixated, for example by thermo bonding, ultrasonic bonding, adhesive and so on on the internal face of the grip, while a looped sheet as define above is fixed on the shaft, notably by an adhesive, notably a double face adhesive tape.

It is also possible when fabricating the sleeve shaped grip to obtain this grip directly with hooks protruding from its internal face.

Tube or sleeve shaped grip can be obtained from a band which is rolled on itself so that the opposite edges of the band come in mutual contact, so as to obtain a tube with two opposite lateral openings. Then the upper opening is being closed by a plug which is for example adhesively fixed to the upper part of the internal surface of the grip.

Tube or sleeve shaped grip can also be obtained by moulding, notably by injection moulding, notably when in a mouldable material such as polyolefin and/or rubber, as recited in U.S. Pat. No. 7,458,903.

Appropriate dimensions of the hooks and loops are those used for the self grippers used for closing the belt of baby diapers.

For example, the hooks can have an height comprised between 50 micrometers and 2 millimeters, preferably between 200 micrometers and 1000 micrometers. Their density can be chosen from 20 to 100 hooks per square centimetre.

In the present invention, hooks are considered as being any element capable of penetrating into a loop and to hook itself in it to obtain a mutual fixation at least in one direction, and this includes notably mushrooms, double hooks, harpoons, spears and so on. 

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 14. A grip for a golf club, comprising a shaft from one end of which protrudes a head having a face for hitting a ball, said grip being destined to be fixed to the end of the shaft opposite the head, said grip being destined to have the shape of a hollow tube in which said shaft end is received, said tube having an outer face which is to come in contact with the hands of the golf player, and an inner face that is to be on the shaft side, wherein hooks are protruding from said inner face, said hooks being destined to cooperate with loops or hooks protruding from said shaft so as to allow fixation of said grip to said shaft by a hook and loop or hook in hook self gripper or mechanical fastener.
 15. A grip for a golf club, comprising a shaft from one end of which protrudes a head having a face for hitting a ball, said grip being destined to be fixed to the end of the shaft opposite the head, said grip being destined to have the shape of a hollow sleeve in which said shaft end is received, said sleeve having an outer face which is to come in contact with the hands of the golf player, and an inner face that is to be on the shaft side, wherein loops are protruding from said inner face, said loops being destined to cooperate with hooks protruding from said shaft so as to allow fixation of said grip to said shaft by a hook and loop self gripper or mechanical fastener.
 16. The golf grip of claim 1, wherein said sleeve is comprising a web with hooks helicoidally wrapped around said shaft.
 17. The golf grip of claim 2, wherein said sleeve is comprising a web with loops helicoidally wrapped around said shaft.
 18. The grip of claim 1, wherein a longitudinal slit extends from a lower opening of the sleeve toward an upper end of the sleeve.
 19. The grip of claim 2, wherein a longitudinal slit extends from a lower opening of the sleeve toward an upper end of the sleeve.
 20. A golf club, comprising a shaft from one lower end of which extends a head having a face for hitting a ball, and loops are protruding from the upper part of the shaft, said loops being destined to cooperate with hooks protruding from an internal face of the grip of claim
 1. 21. A golf club, comprising a shaft from one lower end of which extends a head having a face for hitting a ball, and hooks are protruding from the upper part of the shaft, said hooks being destined to cooperate with hooks protruding from an internal face of a grip.
 22. A golf club as defined in claim 21, comprising a shaft from a lower end of which extends a head having a face for hitting a ball, and a grip fitted around the shaft, said grip comprising a web wrapped around said shaft, wherein loops are protruding from a inner face of said web, hooks are protruding from the upper part of the shaft, and said hooks and said loops being penetrated by said hooks so that said grip is mechanically fixed to said shaft.
 23. A golf club as defined in claim 22, wherein said wrapped around said shaft web is in the shape of a tube.
 24. The golf grip as defined in claim 14, wherein the hooks are formed integrally and in one piece with the tube or the web forming the grip.
 25. The golf grip as defined in claim 15, wherein a looped fabric is fixated on said inner face.
 26. The golf grip as defined in claim 14, wherein a thermoplastic web with hooks is fixated on said inner face.
 27. The golf club of claim 21, wherein a thermoplastic web with hooks is fixated around said shaft. 